Data storage devices such as disk drives comprise a disk and a head connected to a distal end of an actuator arm which is rotated about a pivot by a voice coil motor (VCM) to position the head radially over the disk. The disk comprises a plurality of radially spaced, concentric tracks for recording user data sectors and servo sectors. The servo sectors comprise head positioning information (e.g., a track address) which is read by the head and processed by a servo control system to control the actuator arm as it seeks from track to track.
Conventional disk drives typically comprise a rigid printed circuit board (PCB) 2 that is mounted to an external surface 4 of a base casting (FIG. 1) housing the VCM, actuator arm assembly, and disks. The PCB 2 is populated with a number of integrated circuits, such as circuitry for controlling operation of the disk drive, power circuitry for power regulation and servo motor control, circuitry and connectors for interfacing with a host, passive components such as resistors, diodes, capacitors, etc. In attempt to increase the capacity and throughput of a disk drive, the number of disks installed into the base casting is increasing, as is the number of communication channels that may be accessing two or more disk surfaces concurrently. For example, a disk drive may employ a split actuator configuration wherein multiple subsets of actuator arms are independently actuated by respective VCMs in order to enable the concurrent access of multiple disk surfaces. As the number of disks and/or communication channels increases, there is a commensurate increase in the PCB 2 footprint due to a corresponding increase in the number and/or size of the integrated circuits that populate the PCB 2.